Local Speakers
Dr Sahba Besharati
Sahba Besharati is a neuropsychologist and social affective neuroscientist. She is a C1 rated researcher of the South African National Research Foundation and is the cofounder and joint leader of Wits NeuRL (Neuroscience Research Laboratory of the University of the Witwatersrand). Sahba serves on the Editorial Board for the Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Division of Communications Biology (Nature Portfolio, Springer Nature). She draws on interdisciplinary methods to investigate the developmental and neural bases of self-consciousness, emotion and social cognition in clinical, pediatric and healthy populations. She is actively involved in capacity building in the neurosciences for unrepresented researchers.
Prof John Joska
John Joska is Head of Clinical Services for psychiatry at Groote Schuur Hospital, and professor of psychiatry. His research over the last 20 years has focussed on the biological and psychological effects of HIV on the brain. Over the last 10 years, the HIV Mental Health Research Unit at the University of Cape Town has conducted a series of pilot and full scale randomised controlled trials of behavioural interventions in common mental disorders in People with HIV. These include trials for depression, trauma and substance use disorders, several of which have returned positive findings for both viral load suppression and mental disorder outcomes. Prof Joska is the author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has mentored multiple masters, doctoral and post-doctoral fellows, and established the first recognised training centre for sub-specialist neuropsychiatry training in South Africa.
Prof Saeeda Paruk
Saeeda Paruk is a child psychiatrist and adjunct professor at the Discipline of Psychiatry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and based at the King Dinuzulu hospital in Durban, South Africa. She is involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research supervision for Master’s and PhD students. Her research interest has been around first episode psychosis, HIV, cannabis and children and have several publications. She was awarded the emerging researcher award by the Biological Society in the past.
Prof Chrisma Pretorius
Associate Professor Chrisma Pretorius is an academic in the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University. She is dually registered as a neuropsychologist and counselling psychologist with the HPCSA. Her research focuses on the psychosocial impact of Functional Neurological Disorders (FND), particularly functional seizures, as well as the development of psychoeducational interventions to reduce stigma and improve care. She has served for over a decade, and continues to serve, as the African representative on the ILAE Functional/Dissociative Seizures Taskforce, and serves on the Communications Committee of the Functional Neurological Disorder Society. She is actively involved in national and international networks and holds a C1 National Research Foundation rating.